FOLK | Todd Snider

Outlandish and existential, Todd Snider is a story-telling troubadour. He hails from Portland, Oregon, and now calls East Nashville home — he'll tell you 95 stories about that. A raucous mix of unintentional stand-up comedy, stream-of-conscious ramblings and folk songs, his shows are an event. He's a Hunter S. Thompson-esque character: outspoken, lewd, smart enough to know better, and with booze stories for days. And the fact that you never quite know what's going to happen next with this guy is totally captivating. Snider has more than a dozen albums under his sweaty signature hat, dating back to 1994. His most recent endeavor and third release with Aimless Records, "Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables" (2012), features songs like "New York Banker" and "In Between Jobs." He's about as unpretentious as they come.